Every year we buy 4 pumpkins, one for each family member. My husband, myself and my son each carve our own pumpkin, while my husband helps my daughter with hers. Every year I have the worst looking pumpkin. I am not certain what prevents me from mastering pumpkin carving. For whatever reason, I seem to be a pumpkin butcher-poor pumpkins.
This year I will be getting some help from Instructables. Instructables has instructions for nearly everything, even pumpkin carving. Maybe you don’t need help. Maybe you are just looking for some fun pumpkin carving stencils? Well check these out…
Appleton Post Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils
Spooky Spider from Family Fun
Pumpkin Pirate from Family Fun
Absolutely Batty from Family Fun
and
Creepy Kitty
Or design your own stencil at Better Homes & Garden
What ever you decide to do, make sure you have fun!
Filed under: Holidays on September 29th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Here’s an opportunity to flex some brain muscle and enjoy some Halloween fun. Below is a Halloween word scramble I made myself- yikes. Hope you have fun!
Halloween Word Scramble
Filed under: Holidays on September 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
I have to be honest, the “story map” is not my idea. I came across a story map on the Book It website. A story map can be used to outline a story your child wishes to write, or to outline a story your child has read for a book report. I have to say I am very biased when it comes to my story map. Consider it swag for Cap’n Kymberlyn, and I have Randa Clay to thank. I hope you like it.
Story Map(pdf)
*It is a rather large file, so please give it a few seconds to download.
Filed under: Worksheet and Printable Sites on September 25th, 2007 | 3 Comments »
This recipe comes from the Very Best Baking Website.
Officially it is Mexican Hot Chocolate. But El Diablo Chocolata is so much more fun 
2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, divided
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) * NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, divided (optional)
Directions:
POUR 1/2 cup evaporated milk into medium mixer bowl; place beaters into mixture. Freeze for about 30 minutes or until ice crystals form around edge of bowl.HEAT remaining evaporated milk, water, morsels, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Do not boil. Set aside.REMOVE chilled evaporated milk from freezer. Beat on high speed for 1 minute or until very frothy. Add remaining vanilla extract, remaining cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Continue beating for 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture forms soft peaks.POUR hot chocolate into eight 4-ounce demitasse cups and immediately dollop with foam topping.SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve as a rich dessert drink in 4-ounce demitasse cups.
* May substitute NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Milk Chocolate Morsels for the Semi-Sweet Morsels
I’m serving this hot chocolate up with two spiders made out of oreo cakester cookies. I used M & Ms for eyes and chocolate Twizzlers for legs.
Another fun way to dress up your cocoa is with ghost shaped marshmallows.
Begin by laying out a piece of wax paper. Dust the wax paper with powdered sugar (the marshmallows have a tendency of sticking), and then place the marshmallows on top of the paper. Sprinkle additional sugar over top of them. Now place a second sheet of paper over top of the marshmallows. You are ready to roll! Once you have your marshmallows flat, you can cut them using mini cookie cutters. I bought a set at Walmart which includes a ghost, bat, pumpkin and what appears to be a cat.
Stay tuned. More fun is on the way!
Filed under: Holidays on September 24th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I decided I have delayed long enough. It is time to get things going around here. For the next 5 (perhaps 6) weeks you will be seeing more Halloween posts than is reasonably neccessary. Why? I suppose it’s the mood I’m in. So let us begin with a Halloween classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(hosted pdf).
Looking for more ghoulish and ghostly stories? Checkout these sites.
The Moonlit Road
Ghost Stories from the US Scouts
Halloween Is Here
Think Quest Ghost Stories
Ghosts and Stories
Filed under: Holidays on September 21st, 2007 | No Comments »
When I was younger I was able to internalize stress, not something I recommend. I suppose what I mean to say is that I did not show signs of stress physically. As I get older my haphazard days read like a book across my weary face, and it is fair to say I have never been one who considered growing old gracefully. Rather, I have always intended on fighting it every step of the way.
I have tried several anti-aging products and have had little success with any of them. I have horribly sensitive skin, so many ingredients found in skin care products tend to irritate my skin leaving it red and inflamed. When it comes skincare products in general, I find that I fair best with products that are made with natural ingredients. They seem to be far less caustic on my skin.
Recently, I have been pressed to take action where aging is concerned. I’ve been far more conscious of the fact that I am getting older. I no longer get carded, and I hear the salutation “ma’am” more and more. Who would have ever thought I would be a ma’am? Consequently, I have been looking into various products trying to decide upon a skincare regimen.
I’ve been reading up on Gac. It’s a fruit grown Asia that is has an extremely high anti oxidant content. Proponents of the Gac fruit claim that it revitalizes skin at a cellular level as well as boost the body’s immunity. Such a claim always gets my attention, because I am a big fan of the acai berry. The R.G. Skin Revitalizer system uses both an oral supplement as well as a topical cream. At less than $45 for both supplement and the cream, it seems to be far more reasonable than some of the other things I’ve seen and tried. I think I might just have to give it a try. I am sick of hearing ma’am, I much rather be hearing “miss.”
***This is a sponsored post***
Filed under: Sponsored on September 18th, 2007 | No Comments »
